Let’s Talk About Sex: The Vulnerable Dreaminess of Frankie Cosmos’ ‘Next Thing’
Greta Kline explores love and introspection in her second project as Frankie Cosmos. Taking inspiration from her Bandcamp roots, the joyful melodies, DIY sound, and short song lengths of Next Thing leave room for listeners to find comfort in the music’s raw vulnerability.
Written by Julianna Riccioli
Photo courtesy of Matthew James-Wilson
Greta Kline began her music career as many independent artists in the late 2000s did — on Bandcamp, an online platform that allows musicians to upload and sell their music directly to fans. Compared to Spotify, which underpays small, independent artists, Bandcamp prioritizes artist control by allowing musicians to decide how much to price their tunes. So, using Bandcamp for music promotion and exposure was a first choice for a lot of DIY musicians, including Kline. In an interview with Pitchfork in 2014 about her first album Zentropy, she stated, “if you made a Bandcamp, you seem like a real band, so I made one and put up everything I had made… I gave them titles and made weird art.” Her 2016 album Next Thing combines the simplistic nature of her Bandcamp days with the quirky charm of indie pop and thoughtful lyricism.
Though she’s the daughter of famous actors Kevin Kline and Phoebe Cates, Greta Kline made an effort to separate herself from her parents by adopting stage names throughout her career — from “Ingrid Superstar” to the most well-known “Frankie Cosmos'' — and releasing music under independent means. The name Frankie Cosmos is inspired by the name of the artist’s favorite poet, Frank O’Hara. In the same 2014 Pitchfork interview, she stated that O’Hara’s poetry came “from a place of mundane New York life—he wrote ‘Lunch Poems’ on his lunch break everyday.” Kline, a fellow New Yorker, took inspiration from the simplicity of his work in her own candid songwriting. As she developed her music skills, she began releasing music under the Frankie Cosmos stage name as a solo project, eventually developing a band with the same name in 2018. Next Thing, however, which was released in 2016 and is considered Kline’s solo endeavor under the Frankie Cosmos name, features instrumentalists who eventually joined the band.
Next Thing combines everything endearing about Kline’s Bandcamp music, from the diary-entry-esque lyrics to the short song length (consisting of 15 songs, the album is less than half an hour long), with a newfound maturity of a confident voice and perspicuous instrumentals. In maintaining the minimalist production style, she enhances her craft with concise, emotionally resonant tracks that make listeners ponder love and identity without pressure. Epitomizing the lo-fi indie-pop sound, which is characterized by its raw, unpolished instrumentation and hushed, intimate lyrics, Next Thing is a dreamy album that demands to be remembered.
The first song on the album envelops the singer’s Bandcamp intimacy with the mainstream catchiness of its beatific melodies and contemplative lyrics. Beginning with a short guitar riff and filled with the relatively minimalist instrumentation of drums, synth, and guitar, her vocals take center stage throughout the song. At a short one minute and 22 seconds, “Floated In” explores themes of introspection and self-discovery without bombarding the listener. In lyrics like “I floated in and started living… Now it would be bedtime / If I could close off my mind / It just flops onto you / Wet and soppy glue,” moments of causal uncertainty, combined with the general oddness of the lyrics, properly introduces Frankie Cosmos’ signature lo-fi indie-pop sound. The ease of floating and the looseness of wet glue invite the listener to sink into the world of Next Thing with leisure.
Photo courtesy of Julia Lieby
In “Fool,” Kline paints a hazy scene of unrequited love that commands the audience’s full attention and understanding.. She sings, “Your name is a triangle / Your heart is a square… Once I was happy / You found it intriguing / Then you got to me / And left me waiting.” This zany description of her lover is at first listen difficult to parse in its funky shapes. But as she continues to explain how the love interest left her waiting, the uncomfortable feeling of unrequited love becomes simpler and more snug when bracketed by the minimalist instrumentation that provides a smooth backdrop for her soft vocals. As the singer moves into the chorus, doubly repeating, “You made me feel like a fool waiting for you,” the subtle dynamics of the musicality briefly pause for the first half of the chorus and then strike the audience in high intensity for the second half, which reflects the emotional ebb and flow of the lyrics. Listeners feel the gentle heartbreak the lyrics present while being hugged by the music that coordinates with her voice throughout the track.
The fourth song on the album, “Embody,” proves that not all love is foolish or uncertain by epitomizing the bliss of friendship. While maintaining elements of the DIY sound that Kline cultivates throughout the album, the instrumentation of “Embody” introduces a slightly heavier drum and electric guitar sound to emphasize that romantic relationships aren’t the only ones that the singer holds dear. The song opens with a brief dream-pop guitar tone, which then tapers off so the listener only hears Kline sing, “Someday in bravery / I’ll embody all grace and lightness.” As the song continues, she croons, “My friends are friends with my friends / It shows me they embody all the grace and lightness,” to akin friendship to holiness. In a show of emotive delivery, the artist contemplates the fragility of the future. She also makes sure to scatter a few friends’ names throughout the track, like saying “Sarah is a light beam / From the picture Jonah sent me,” and “Emily is in the air / On tour with Gabby.” Her monument to friendship is full of flowery language, but her genuine affection for her pals shines through nonetheless.
“On the Lips” was originally posted to Kline’s Bandcamp in 2013, and though the original version showcases the stripped-down, DIY aspect of recording solo, the Next Thing rendition of “On the Lips” showcases just how much her vocals have matured. This twee-pop track maintains the same lethargy as the rest of the album, all while introducing the deeper topics of existentialism and magic. She wonders, “I watch David Blaine / Find myself believing / In anything, in anything / Where would I kiss ya? / If I could kiss ya?" as casual guitar, bass strums, and synthesizer mesh with her voice. She has a way of introducing broad topics, like questioning what she should believe in, only to immediately return to the song with a question so the listener always feels included. She follows these lines with a reference to her trusty New York roots, “I’ll never have all the answers / Separated by a subway transfer,” and savors the intimacy of knowing “you could’ve kissed me / But I’ll have to wait.”
Photo courtesy of Matthew James-Wilson
“Outside With the Cuties” begins with a reference to Robert Frost’s poem “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” as Kline sings, “Outside with the cuties / I don’t think the woods are too deep,” setting the melancholic vibe of the track. In this song, She savors the pauses between lyrics, invoking the feel of poetic line breaks. She invites listeners to participate in the world she’s created on the record with the fourth wall breaker, “I haven’t written this part yet / Will you help me write it?” She creates a wistful melody surrounded by a warm ‘50s-style backing vocals. The small, yet profound revelations like “You are bug bites on vacation / You find the sad in everything” remind the listener they can feel as involved in the album as Kline is.
The introspective lyricism combined with the dream-like ambiance of soft instrumentation in Next Thing exudes a breezy aura in its lo-fi indie-pop sound reminiscent of Greta Kline’s Bandcamp origins. The gentle guitar melodies and intimate lyrics remind listeners they can contemplate alongside her, whether they’re a fool or outside with the cuties.